Kansas Edged by No. 44 Tulsa, 4-3

Horvath, Tokarczyk improve to 2-0 in singles play.

Senior Lauren Hommell

Feb. 3, 2008

TULSA, Okla. -- The University of Kansas tennis team won three singles matches but could not overcome dropping the decisive doubles point in a 4-3 loss to 44^th-ranked Tulsa on Sunday afternoon.

The setback dropped the Jayhawks to 0-2 in dual match play.

After falling in two of the three doubles matches to go down 1-0, KU played well in singles play, getting victories from junior Edina Horvath, sophomore Kunigunda Dorn and freshman Magdalena Tokarczyk.

Tokarczyk, who defeated TU's Thalia Diaz-Barriga, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, in the No. 2 contest, is yet to lose in a Jayhawk uniform. The freshman is now 5-0 in singles play after wins in KU's first two matches as well as three victories at the Hawaii Spring Invitational.

Also continuing her strong play was Horvath, who handled Tulsa's Carla Zabaleta, 6-1, 6-0, in the No. 3 position. The Budapest, Hungary, native is now 2-0 this spring after picking up six wins during KU's preseason tournaments.

After struggling during the preseason and in Saturday's loss to No. 40 Arkansas, Dorn got back on track against the Golden Hurricane, defeating Rebecca Row in straight sets in the No. 4 match. The Sopron, Hungary, native will look to return to the level of play that earned her 15 singles wins as a freshman last year.

Following Saturday's win against Arkansas' 45^th-ranked doubles tandem of Maryori Franco and Nanar Airapetian, Horvath and senior Elizaveta Avdeeva kept it going on Sunday, defeating Tulsa's Row and Zabelata, 8-4. However, their win was the only the Jayhawks would get.

In other doubles action, KU's No. 3 tandem of Torarczyk and senior Lauren Hommell, who missed the entire fall season with a wrist injury, fought hard against Tulsa's Alexandra Kichoutkin and Jie Zeng, but eventually came up short, 9-7.

The Jayhawks will make their first appearance this season at First Serve in Lawrence next weekend when they play Illinois and Saint Louis on Sunday. Kansas' match against the Illini is set to begin at 10 a.m. and will be followed by its contest with SLU, which will get underway at 3 p.m.

Results

Singles

1) Alexandra Kichoutkin (UT) def. Elizaveta Avdeeva (KU), 6-0, 6-0

2) Magdalena Tokarczyk (KU) def. Thalia Diaz-Barriga (UT), 6-1, 4-6, 7-5

3) Edina Horvath (KU) def. Carla Zabaleta (UT), 6-1, 6-0

4) Kunigunda Dorn (KU) def. Rebecca Row (UT), 6-4, 6-3

5) Marta Marcinkowska (UT) def. Yuliana Svistun (KU), 6-0, 6-3

6) Jie Zeng (UT) def. Maria Martinez (KU), 6-2, 6-2

Doubles

1) Avdeeva/Horvath (KU) def. Row/Zabelata (UT), 8-4

2) Diaz-Barriga/Marcinkowska (UT) def. Dorn/Svistun (KU), 8-3

3) Kichoutkin/Zeng (UT) def. Hommell/Torarczyk (KU), 9-7